Merry Christmas to you all, I wish you a hopeful Christmas and a brave New Year. Let any anguish, pain, and sadness to leave your heart and your road be clear. Fill up your life with love, compassion, tolerance, peace, happiness and hopefully some time for modelling.

The early Southern Railway Christmas advert for excursions from Bideford in December 1923 seen left (click for a larger version) is a fascinating glimpse back to a different time. I can’t believe there was that much of a market for excursions just from Bideford, so I assume there were similar adverts tailored to other local stations.

As the festive season and New Year break is upon us, I just wanted to say many thanks to all of you whom have taken the time to read my ramblings over the past 12 months. I hope you have found such ramblings interesting and informative.  I have always enjoyed corresponding with many of you that have made contact me via email or the comments field on my various posts. I look forward to corresponding with you again in the New Year and maybe in person at an exhibition…

A further flurry of activity will be taking place at the start of the New Year with, on January 9th 2024,  Hornby  announcing part, as they are changing the way they making product announcements in the future, of its 2024 range. This will be followed a few weeks later, at the beginning of February, by Bachmann making the next of their now quarterly range British Railway Announcements.  I will, as always, bring you any Southern Railway / Southern Region related news on here as soon as their announcements are made.

Seasons greetings, whatever your faith or beliefs, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (or Nadelik Lowen ha Blydhen Nowydh Da! from the boss’s side of the Tamar) to you all!